Zephyr

I suppose I should have mentioned Zeph at an earlier point in the year but I simply forgot.  Sorry!  He is a cute terrier mix of some sort (adopted about five years ago) and in this photo decided he wanted to jump up on the flowerbed in the backyard and climb onto the little piece of cement that juts out under the neighbor's fence.  He is small (growing up my family had two larger lab mixes, so although Zeph is "grown up" I always think of him as a puppy) but fun to play and cuddle with.

Decided to post his photo and ramble a bit about him today because he was helpful in keeping things calm this past weekend.  My aunt and sister are both back to normal, and although I did catch a bit of my aunts' cold I am all better - except for my throat in the evenings.  I did get to finish up all of my homework that was due, and did a bit extra so all I have left before my ten-year-reunion this Saturday is to finish the chapter I am on and take a measly three-point-quiz so that is nice.

The past few days I also decided to go ahead and continue with the "Little Women" series, so I have now finished both "Little Men" and "Jo's Boy's" - not quite sure what I am going to read next, I have suggestions for new books but part of me wants to re-read the Christopher Paolini books (Eragon, Eldest, and Brisingr - the fourth and final book is not completed yet).  Each book is roughly 500-700 pages long if I recall correctly... am also thinking of picking though the Harry Potter series and re-reading my favorite books/chapters in certain books.

Let's see... Oh!  How could I forget to mention today is Ash Wednesday?  Since this year started with many health difficulties for myself, I feel as though I started Lent much earlier than usual.  This year I am working on making my body much healthier.  Part of me feels as though I am cheating just a bit, but I really have done a 180 with most of my food choices.  Aside from eating tons of fruits and veggies, I am sticking to lean meats (less than 7% fat), eggs, and a limited amount of whole wheat/whole grain carbohydrates (pretty much just a slice of bread for an open faced sandwich and oatmeal with dried fruits added for flavor).  Prior to the end of January I lived most of my life eating tons of white carbs, white sugar, lots of cheese (I miss macaroni and cheese, as well as cookies and chips)...

Eating out has not happened at all in the past two months, which makes me sad because I am very selfish and loved to get In 'n' Out or order in a pizza pretty much once a week.  Neglecting fruits and veggies might I add.  So  I have changed my diet and for Lent am going to try and really stick to it, as well as getting in walks with Zeph to the park down the road and perhaps joining an aerobic or yoga class of some sort nearby.  I also want to try and be more on top of housework - dusting, sweeping, dishes, and laundry... So three areas to focus on during Lent - healthy food, increasing exercise, and staying on top of housework.  Shall see what happens and try to remember to update at least twice a week!